The Fantastic Simon Fox

This was a surprise birthday present poster for my good buddy Simon Fox, commemorating a truly fantastic performance as part of the 13th annual West Coast Guitar Night.
This was drawn in the style of my dad, who created posters for local bands and venues all over Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, and Vancouver Island in the l960s and 1970s. I had a lot of fun with it, and it was a great way to honour & acknowledge how much dad's art has inspired me.

Here's a few pics to show the development of the poster. It appears I forgot to take any photos or scans at the preliminary design stages- oh well. Just picture a lot of sketching & erasing. ;)

Stage 1 of inking. The letters need something extra to make them pop.

In retrospect, it would have been a lot easier if I'd used a ruler for all of that crosshatching... I do like the rustic, hand-drawn look, though. But the rest of the text is still missing something...

That's better! Much more eye-catching. Now to add a simple border and the rest of the details.

So many ripples- they are really fun to draw! I saved the sketch of Simon for last, as it was the part I was most worried about messing up. Fortunately, it turned out alright and he asked for a painted version to use as a new logo. Happy to oblige!

Check out Simon's music here: SimonFoxGuitar.com

Autumn in Vancouver

Weekend WIP - West Coast Corvid

"West Coast Corvid"

Acrylic on wood panel, 2011

It's the return of the Weekend Work-In-Progress!

This weekend I'll be showing you how 'West Coast Corvid' came together. There's not much to describe (since the steps are basically 1- sketch. 2- paint. 3- paint some more. 4- keep painting...), so I'll just let the pictures tell the story (such as it is).

Primed wood panel with gesso. Sketched the scene

Painted the sky. Played with some texture for the clouds.

Toned down the cloud texture. Painted the hills.
Played around with the paint on the closest hill to give it a bit of 'forest' texture.

Added some more detail to the hills. Painted the bird. 

And that's it! Everything went as smoothly as described, yes indeed... ;)

Here's a question for all you artists out there- what is your painting process like? Since I first learned to paint with watercolours, I tend to keep a lot of the same habits when I use acrylics (working from light to dark colours, for example). Do you have a system that you like to stick to, or do you tend towards slightly-controlled-chaos?

Zombies Invade Vancouver!

2011 Vancouver ZombieWalk - view the complete set here on Flickr

Window to Another World

Window to Another World, originally uploaded by Laríssa.

No matter how busy you think you are, you should really make the time to stop & smell the puddles. You never know what you might find!

Sakura

Spring has arrived, and Vancouver's cherry blossoms are in full bloom!

I'll be adding more photos as the trees continue to bloom. You can view the whole set here on Flickr:
Vancouver In Blossom

Happy Birthday, Vancouver!

"Our Home On Native Land"

Vancouver celebrated its 125th birthday last Wednesday, with art installations, live music, free cake, and gorgeous weather to enjoy it all.
Of course, First Nations groups have been living here for over 10,000 years. Kind of puts things into perspective doesn't it? ;)

"Sky to Sea"

Vancouver 125 official site:
http://www.celebratevancouver125.ca/
More Vancouver 125 photos on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/riss/sets/72157626445853192/

Vancouver 2010

"Fire & Ice"

It's hard to believe that it's been a year since the Olympics were here in Vancouver. The chaos, the camaraderie.. I kind of miss it!

"Olympic Light Show"

"Is it over yet?"

"He Shoots, He Scores!"

"Celebration on Robson Street"


I know I'll always remember strolling through the crowded streets of downtown Vancouver after Crosby's Golden Goal. So much joy.. so much noise.. so many high-fives!

What are your favourite (or least favourite) Olympic memories?